French Sourdough Country Loaf

I work in Solihull and every so often a market is hosted there. Sometimes it’s local farmers, sometimes further reaching. This week just gone was a French market. I saw a stall selling bread so, obviously, I took a look. There was a variety of tarts and small cakes and a selection of boules and baguettes. There was a truck and trailer with a large oven that was being used to cook pastries at the time. Noting that the stall holders were actually French (unlike some other European markets), I decided to buy a baguette and a sourdough country loaf.

It must be said that visually, this loaf looked fantastic and cutting into it showed a light crumb with plenty of air. It didn’t smell of sourdough and it didn’t taste it either. If anything, it was a little bland, to my surprise. Perhaps the dough had been rushed and given enough time to ferment, maybe it was in the transport and maybe it had already been partially cooked, but it was a little disappointing.